impossibility
C1Formal, neutral, academic
Definition
Meaning
The state or fact of being impossible; something that cannot happen, exist, or be achieved.
The concept or quality of being unattainable or incapable of existing; also refers to a person or thing that is absurdly unsuited to a task or situation (e.g., 'He is an impossibility as a manager').
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily an abstract noun denoting a state or concept. Can be used concretely to mean 'an impossible thing or person', though this is less frequent. Not typically used in casual exaggeration ('That's impossible!' is more common than 'That's an impossibility!').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Slightly more frequent in British formal/academic writing.
Connotations
Neutral in both variants. Implies finality and absolute certainty when used.
Frequency
Moderately low frequency in both. More common in written discourse than spoken.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
the impossibility of + V-ing/noun (the impossibility of reaching a consensus)impossibility + that-clause (rare, e.g., They ignored the impossibility that the plan would succeed.)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Mission impossible (from popular culture)”
- “square the circle (to attempt the impossible)”
- “a bridge too far (an impossibly ambitious goal)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used in strategic planning to denote unachievable goals or market conditions. 'The financial projections revealed the impossibility of expansion this quarter.'
Academic
Common in philosophy, mathematics, and logic to discuss proofs, theorems, or conceptual limits. 'Gödel's theorems address the impossibility of a complete formal system.'
Everyday
Used for emphasis when a task is deemed utterly undoable. 'Given the traffic, arriving on time is a sheer impossibility.'
Technical
In engineering/physics, describing violations of physical laws or computational infeasibility. 'The design proposed a perpetual motion machine, a thermodynamic impossibility.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- No direct verb form. Periphrastic: 'to render impossible' or 'to rule out as impossible'.
- The evidence impossibilitated any other conclusion. (Very rare, technical)
American English
- No direct verb form. Periphrastic: 'to make impossible' or 'to preclude'.
- The clause effectively impossibilitates further negotiation. (Very rare, technical)
adverb
British English
- No direct adverb form. The adverb is 'impossibly'.
- The mountain was impossibility steep. (Incorrect) / The mountain was impossibly steep. (Correct)
American English
- No direct adverb form. The adverb is 'impossibly'.
- He was impossibility late. (Incorrect) / He was impossibly late. (Correct)
adjective
British English
- No direct adjective form. The adjective is 'impossible'.
- The situation was deemed an impossibility.
American English
- No direct adjective form. The adjective is 'impossible'.
- Folding that map back up is an impossibility task.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Finishing the race in that heat seemed an impossibility.
- She realised the impossibility of changing his mind.
- The report highlighted the sheer impossibility of meeting the deadline with current staff.
- Historically, powered flight was considered a physical impossibility.
- The negotiation stumbled upon the logical impossibility of reconciling their core demands.
- Kant explored the metaphysical impossibility of proving the existence of God through pure reason.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: IM-POSSIBIL-ITY. Break it down: IM (not) + POSSIBLE (able to be done) + ITY (state of). It's the 'state of not being able to be done.'
Conceptual Metaphor
IMPOSSIBILITY IS A PHYSICAL BARRIER/WALL (e.g., 'hit a wall', 'insurmountable obstacle'), IMPOSSIBILITY IS A LACK/ABSENCE (e.g., 'void of possibility').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct calque 'невозможность' for the concrete sense 'an impossibility as a person/thing'. English uses it more abstractly.
- Do not confuse with 'improbability' (маловероятность). Impossibility is absolute (0% chance), improbability is very low chance.
- In formal writing, 'the impossibility of' is preferred over 'that it is impossible to'.
Common Mistakes
- Misspelling as 'impossiblity' (missing 'i').
- Using 'an impossibility' as a countable noun too casually (e.g., 'That test was an impossibility' – better: 'That test was impossible').
- Confusing 'impossibility' (noun) with 'impossible' (adjective) syntactically.
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following best describes the core meaning of 'impossibility'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is primarily uncountable when referring to the abstract state (e.g., 'the impossibility of the task'). It can be countable when referring to a specific impossible thing or person (e.g., 'The list was full of impossibilities').
'Impossibility' means something cannot happen (0% chance). 'Improbability' means something is very unlikely but still theoretically possible (e.g., winning the lottery).
No. 'Impossible' is an adjective and needs a noun (e.g., an impossible task). 'An impossibility' is a noun phrase meaning 'an impossible thing'.
No, the standard phrase from popular culture is 'Mission: Impossible'. Using 'impossibility' here is a common error based on mishearing.
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